You see so many things about a composer and about certain compositions by having them back to back with other creations of the same composer".
"I suppose one could ask, 'Do I ever worry about being pigeonholed as a composer writing about American icons?' My response would be that when my pieces are programmed on a concert, they're real, unique works, and each work has a very particular thing going for it, and then I move on.
I am haunted by the dismissive phrase I once heard a composer use about the station.
In addition to dramatic readings by Bob Spiotto, a storyteller, the concert features "Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine," a new work by Eric Whitacre, a contemporary composer, about da Vinci's interest in man-powered flight.
The program, which included works by three composers from Spain (Arriaga, Rodrigo and Turina) and one from Argentina (Ginastera), also made an interesting point about the relationship between national styles based on folk influences and an international style that says more about a composer's time than about his location.
Instead, the abstract patterns suggest something different -- perhaps a drama about heroism, about individualism, about the relationship between a composer and the aristocracy, about the unjustified constraints of classical style.
One suspects music that is less about a composer's own spirit than about his irritation with, and amusement at, the musical clichés around him.
Saturday's program focuses on John Cage, with performances of his music and a composer round table about his influence.
"There are all these repetitions in the film," she said, "an interesting thing for a composer to think about musically.
